49ers - Rams: Dilfer starting Sunday

by wjackalope on Nov 15, 2007 12:38 PM PST

[EDITOR'S NOTE 1:20PM] - I picked this up from the diary section and removed the part saying "Give up now." My own opinion issue is that I'd rather Smith not further aggravate the injury during a lost season. I don't think he should necessarily be shut down for the season, but wait until both he AND Nolan are 100% sure he's ready to return. If he misses the rest of the season, so be it. If this injury has caused some or most of his accuracy issues, sit him down for now. If this team was 7-2 maybe things would be different, but they're not. Let's contain Alex Smith/Trent Dilfer comments to THIS thread if at all possible. This would include the trust issues between Smith and Nolan and anything similar. Thanks.

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Crap.

I don't have much else to say but I need to fill 300 characters so I will say this: Crap. Smith is bad, Dilfer is worse. Not that we had any chance to win another game all season, but with Old Man Dilf at the helm, we'll be lucky to match the, what? six first downs we had on Monday. I might decide to not even watch.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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Dilfer

I think with Dilfer at the helm we stand a fair chance of beating the Rams. He has thrown more touchdowns than Smith this year on half as many attempts. Plus, The Disease didn't play in Dilfer's earlier starts, if memory serves me correctly. If Hostler gets his head out of his ass and better utilizes The Disease we should be able to move the rock.

jfainsf49

by jfainsf49 on Nov 15, 2007 12:45 PM PST 0 recs

But...

"I think with Dilfer at the helm we stand a fair chance of beating the Rams."

Who cares!? The rest of this season should be about looking towards the future, giving our young or unproven players more time on the field to see what they've got, etc. Trent Dilfer is in no way, shape or form going to be part of a succesful 49ers' team.

Right now I would much rather see the 49ers lose to the Rams with Hill behind center than win with Trent Dilfer.

by jaytierney on Nov 15, 2007 1:49 PM PST up 0 recs

Double edge sword.

I understand the desire to see the kids play. We all want to see what they've got, but you have to look at it another way as well. As Alex Smith proves so well, the performance of a QB reflects the performance of his surrounding players as well (and vice versa). I believe Dilfer is a better option than Hill in general, and in this situation would provide a better look at guys like Hill, Davis, etc as he'd be most likely to help them succeed.

by sfgfan on Nov 15, 2007 3:57 PM PST up 0 recs

Now that you mention it...

That's a very good point...

by jaytierney on Nov 16, 2007 7:41 AM PST up 0 recs

Michael Robinson

It's time.

by BaronsBeard on Nov 15, 2007 1:56 PM PST 0 recs

Before and After

To anyone who thinks we shouldn't give Alex Smith more time before calling him a bust, consider this (just posted by Matt Maoicco)...

"Before the injury, Smith was 43 of 84 (51.1 percent) for 461 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His passer rating was 66.6. (Those numbers include numerous dropped passes and an interception in which Taylor Jacobs ran the wrong route. Eliminate just the interception and his passer rating would've been 72.4.) After Smith's return, he has completed 51 of 109 passes (46.8 percent) for 453 yards with one TD and three interceptions."

http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=700410

I think it's also important to remember that following the Pittsburgh game, not many people had an issue with Smith's play and felt he was merely being limited by the ineptitude of Jim Hostler's play calling. As far as I'm concerned, these last three games mean nothing in terms of evaluating Smith as a QB.

by jaytierney on Nov 15, 2007 1:58 PM PST 0 recs

Here Here

I agree with jaytierney, it is premature to call Smith a bust since none of us are sure about the extent of Smith's injury. If nothing else the last few games have taught me something about Smith's toughness.

by billwalsh4ever on Nov 15, 2007 3:28 PM PST 0 recs

is it nolans fault?

Mike Nolan seems like a stand-up guy, but that's an outright lie. He's been treating his quarterback badly and he's treated other people badly, and he consistently blames others for his own mistakes. If anyone with a conscience runs the 49ers, Nolan is doomed in San Francisco.

What he's done to Alex Smith is shameful. For weeks, Nolan insisted Smith's shoulder was OK. Cohn sat in the postgame news conference after Seattle shut out the Niners, and listened as Nolan, with an ironic grin, insisted Smith's shoulder was sound. He said this even though Smith barely could throw a pass. Nolan's implication was the quarterback was the big problem, certainly not the coach.

He was saying it's the players' fault the team has lost seven in a row and gets worse every week. Of course, there's truth to that. But Nolan also is at fault, although he never says that. He separates himself from his own players, let's everyone think he's OK but they're not.

He did more blaming. At his Tuesday news conference, he pointed the finger at his offensive coordinator, Jim Hostler. I have no intention of defending Hostler, who is over his head in the NFL. I'm not talking about Hostler. I'm talking about Nolan and how a head coach should behave.

What he's done to Alex Smith is shameful. For weeks, Nolan insisted Smith's shoulder was OK. I sat in the postgame news conference after Seattle shut out the Niners, and listened as Nolan, with an ironic grin, insisted Smith's shoulder was sound. He said this even though Smith barely could throw a pass. Nolan's implication was the quarterback was the big problem, certainly not the coach.

Everything changed on Wednesday. Boy, did it change. Smith, who has kept his mouth shut, who bit the bullet for the team, admitted his shoulder has been killing him for a long time and now his forearm hurts, too. We're talking about Smith's throwing arm, one of the most expensive throwing arms in the known world.

And why would Smith go public about his injury? Because his coach hasn't supported him. It's worse than that. His coach has sacrificed him, thrown him in front of the team bus. Smith couldn't take it anymore, so he let everyone know Nolan was lying.

Surely, Nolan had to know his quarterback was injured. The Seahawks' Julian Peterson could tell Smith was in agony just by playing against him. If Nolan didn't know the truth about Smith, he's a buffoon. If he did know, he's a bum. Either way, he's no good. He willingly jeopardized his quarterback's future and allowed fans and writers to ridicule Smith, to call him a bust like Rick Mirer. That's a lot for a young player to take. A good coach, the right kind of man, would have yanked Smith off the field for Smith's good and for the good of the team.

source: www1.pressdemocrat

by Vote4Gore on Nov 15, 2007 4:41 PM PST 0 recs

Copyright stuff

I know you didn't copy the whole article, but try and cut it up a little bit more just to cover everyone. For example, I'll take from the Scouts inc articles, but try and mix in some of my own commentary. Or when I take from paragraphs I try and make it a little more paraphrasing than taking too much.

Just wanted to throw that out in case a writer ever comes to me with copyright issues.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Nov 15, 2007 7:08 PM PST up 0 recs

jaytierney's right

You can't judge Smith from his play after his shoulder separation.

I also think that from here on out the young players should be getting time on the field. If a miracle occurs and the Niners are suddenly dynamic this Sunday I might reconsider, but really, does anyone care now if the Niners have two wins or five wins?

Why isn't Hill playing? If Hill is utterly incompetent and cannot play at all, why is he on the roster?

by Bob In Pacifica on Nov 15, 2007 7:06 PM PST 0 recs

Lowell Cohn

Cohn wrote what I'm beginning to feel about Nolan:

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20071115/BUSINESS0110/711150328/1055/SPORT10

by Bob In Pacifica on Nov 15, 2007 8:37 PM PST 0 recs

that one

thats the article cited above

by Vote4Gore on Nov 15, 2007 9:43 PM PST up 0 recs

you're right, too

by Bob In Pacifica on Nov 16, 2007 7:04 AM PST up 0 recs

Woohoo!

I'm happy to see the press beginning to turn on Nolan, because the way he tried to throw Smith under the bus was shameful and basically a complete contradiction to his supposed team/family motto. Frankly, some of the crap he was saying was so absurd that it was insulting to us fans as well. If the team is a mess, take your lumps like a man and we'll respect you. Start dodging and throwing other people under the bus and we'll replace you with someone else.

by jaytierney on Nov 16, 2007 7:48 AM PST up 0 recs

You're right again

The team is disorganized, and that's Nolan's responsibility.

Quarterbacks get hurt. Why carry a "coach" as backup quarterback? Certainly not to save money. Why carry Hill as third-string if he can't quarterback? These aren't minor mistakes. These are symptoms of someone who isn't thinking ahead to possibilities. He guaranteed that if Smith got hurt that the season was lost. Granted, he lost it before Smith's shoulder was hurt.

What else hasn't Nolan figured out yet?

by Bob In Pacifica on Nov 16, 2007 8:00 AM PST up 0 recs